It seems that the Mumbai Metropolitan Region Development Authority's plan to construct the proposed Dadar TT station monorail (Jacob Circle-Wadala) near the famous Vitthal Mandir in Wadala will not be an easy task
It seems that the Mumbai Metropolitan Region Development Authority's plan to construct the proposed Dadar TT station monorail (Jacob Circle-Wadala) near the famous Vitthal Mandir in Wadala will not be an easy task, as members of the Vitthal Mandir Committee (Vitthal-Rukmai Jirnodhar Seva Sangh) have written a letter to the authorities asking them to shift the proposed station to another location, failing which the committee members will come onto the streets and protest.
The committee submitted the letter to MMRDA on Thursday. "We have submitted a letter to the Metropolitan Commissioner's office in which we have mentioned that for over 400 years, a fun fair is organised outside Vitthal Mandir during Ashadi Ekadashi where more than two lakh devotees from various parts of Maharashtra and India come.
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| The monorail work going on at Vitthal Mandir.
PIC/u00a0PRADEEPu00a0DHIVAR |
If the proposed station comes up near the mandir, it will be very difficult to organise the festival and manage the crowds and this will lead to many problems. Hence, we have asked them to shift the station," said Deepak Sawant, the secretary of the committee.
The MMRDA plans to construct a monorail station that will be called Dadar TT, on Katrak Road, barely 100 metres away from Vitthal Mandir.
"If MMRDA does not takes a call on this issue soon, we will take to the streets. This temple is a heritage structure and we don't want any roadblock to our annual ritual," added Sawant.
Members of various political parties have also joined forces to fight this issue, as many feel that the proposed monorail station will prove to be an obstacle to the 400-year-old annual fair.
Earlier, the Mandir committee had written a letter to MMRDA over the same matter, but they allege that the MMRDA did not respond.
"On January 2, we have organised a programme at the site where the construction is taking place, where we will raise this issue among the authorities."
"We have also planned a signature campaign against the proposed station so that MMRDA realises that before planning anything, residents should be taken in consideration," added a volunteer with the committee.
MMRDA Joint Project Director Dilip Kawatkar said, "At this point of time, I would say that we will first go through the demands made by the Mandir committee and then comment on the issue."
In the letter, the Mandir committee has suggested to MMRDA that the station should be moved towards Naigaon and the name of the station should be changed to Vitthal-Rukmai-Mandir station.
However, an MMRDA official said on condition of anonymity that it would be very difficult to make changes in the present station plan, as there is no other convenient place and the structure is very close to the road.
Did you know> The Vitthal Mandir dates back to 400 years.
> It was built by Sant Tukaram who brought Lord Vitthal's idol from the main shrine at Pandharpur in Solapur district.
> A day-long festival is held at the temple in Wadala on Ashadi Ekadashi which falls in June or July every year.
